Boat-davit



w. F. MILLS.

BOAT DAVIT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30.19l9.

Patented Feb. 3,1920.

2 S HEETS-SHEET I.

f INVENTOR Tlhrreiz EJ443115 Arronlsmn W. F. MILLS.

BOAT DAVIT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1919.

Pategted Feb. 3, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- IN X TEiVTO R Warren Mills H13 4 y UNITED sTArEs PATENT orrion WARREN F. MILLS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

.-,BOAT-DAVIT.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, IVARREN F. MILLS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boat-Davits,of which the following is a specification.

'This invention relates to boat davits.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a davit structure which will familiarly support a boat in -a rigid manner and which will permit the boat tobe instantly freed from itsposition atrest'and lowered into the sea, without diiiiculty and without danger of overturning. i

The present invention contemplates the use of davit posts upon whidr davits are pivoted; said davits being rigidly connected and supporting a boat sothat both davits may be swung simultaneously to effect the lower,-

, ing or raising operation. The structure being further provided with a rigid canopy adapted to normally cover the top of the boat and which may be instantly moved from its covering position when desired.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure-1 is a view in side elevation illustrating the boat davit structure as mounted upon the deck of a ship and supported upon. the upper deck thereo Fig. 2 is a view in section and end. elevation, showing the boat davit in its position at rest and itsoperativdposifiion, as indicated by dotted lines. v

In the drawings, '10 indicates the main deck of a ship while 11 designates the upper deck here shown as supported-thereabove by means of deck posts 12. Mounted upon the upper deck and spaced a desired distance from the edge thereof, are a pair of davit posts 13 and 14. These posts are spaced a distance from each other slightly greater than the length of a boat 15. Extending horizontally between the posts is a keel block 16 upon which is mounted a hinged keel rest 17. This member is formed with a horizontal supporting surface 18 and a vertical ledge 19 adapted to standalong the rear side of the keel 20 of the boat 15. The keel support 17 is shown in Fig. 1 as being fitted with hinges 21 by which it is secured -t i the keel blocks and as shown-in Fig. 2, this block is so disposed in relation to the keel support as to; provide no obstruc- Specification of Letters Patent.

tion' to the downwardly and outwardly SWlDglIlgfiCtlOIlOf. the support. I

The stem and stern of the boat 15 are fitted with suitable fall rings 22 which are engaged'by boat hooks ,or other fastening members. The hooks are supported by suitable cables 23 and 24, which are led up- .wardly and over blocks 25. The blocks- 25 are secured upon the outer swinging ends of davit-s 26 and 27. These davits are secured to'the posts, by means of pins 28, and thus produce the proper swinging action of the davits and the, levers connected therewith. As moreclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the 4 Patented Feb.'3, 1920.

Application filed July 30, 1919. Serial No. 314.199.

drawings, it will be seen that the upper ends I of the davit members are curved outwardly so that suitable clearance will be provided for the boa-t. The cables, after having passed over a pulley 25, extend through blocks 29 secured to the outer side of the posts 13 and 14, by shackle members 30.

This construction permits the shackle blocks '29 to swing freely and to adapt themselves to the angular-position assumed by the cables after passing through the blocks and to the pulleys on theends of the davits. The cables are then led downwardly through an opening in the upper deck 10 and are 'wound around cable-drums 31 and 32.

These drums are mounted upon a horizontally extending shaft The shaft is' inturn rotatably supported within standards 3% and 35 fixed .uponthe lower deck. The

a shaft may be rotated b means ofcranks 36 and 37', which are fixe "to the opposite ends thereof and thus provide means whereby combined force. may be exerted upon the shaft.

In order to retard the rotation of the shaft when the davits are fallin with the boat, a brake drum 39 is secured thereto and is provided ,with a' brake band 40. The brake band lO'is extended downwardly to engage a lever arm 41," This arm'is mounted upon a pivot pin 42 and is formed integral with a hand-lever 43. The lever 43 extends along the floor and is fitted with a handle, by

which pressure may be exerted by the opera tor on' the crank 36. This hand-lever is'pivoted from the deck at a point 44. It will thus beevident that by drawing the brake band downwardly through a guide 45, it

will be tightened and the rotation of the;

shaft retarded, as well as the falling action of theboat. The opposite end of the shaft is fitted with a ratchet wheel 46 which is adapted to operate conjunction with a ratchet member 47 to lockthe shaft in any determined position and to hold it against angled lever arms 48, one of which is' formed integral with each davit and is connected with an extension of the davit which rojects through the floor of the deck' 10.

adapted to receive screws 59. These screws:

' sible for the keel adapted to fit snu l'y over the to boat and around t e edges thereo pre vent the inflow of water or. the actions of his lever portion is provided with a pair of lock-bars 49, which are intended to' proh slots in the keel support and to stan parallel to the ledge 19 upon the. backside of the keel. e locking position is clearly shown in kg.

ect. upwardly throu 1. The lower end of these lock-bars 49 are pivotally mounted upon pins 51, whlch are carried by short lever arms 52. These lever arms are in turn fixed upon a horiaontally extending lock shaft 53, which islpivotally mounted by its opposite ends within the extension levers 48 of the davit. The outer end Of Shaft 53 lS provided a crank I their positign winging 54, so that the shaft may be independently rotated, if desired and will thus reciprocate the lock-bars 49. .Connectingrods 55 are pivotally connected to the shaft 53 and extend forwardly and upwardly to engage the supporting members 17, thus maklng 1t possupport 17 to beyswun downwardly simultaneous with downwar movements of the'lever extensions 48' and the withdrawal of the lock-bars 49. In order to facilitate inoperating the lever exten sion simultaneously, the forward ends of these members are provided with a handrail 56; by

which pressure may be exerted, either in adownwar'd or upward d rect on. A permanent andrigid cover member 57 lace of the ordinarytarpaulint Thismem-. r is preferably made 0 y f th the elements." Bracket members 58 are secured to-the' centers of the cover and are I extend upwardl through a cross-beam 6.0,

which is fixed yits opposite ends to the upper ends of the posts 13 and 14, and act to rigidly secure the boat.

. In operation, it will be assumed that the keel of the boat is resting upon the support member 17; at the same time the keel is to lower the boat the hand-rail 56 may be grasped .to swing the lever extension 59' sheet metal and is' Y downwardly in the direction'of the arrowa, as shown in Fig. 2, At this time the davits will swing outwardly and downwardly from thelr pivots 28 and in the direction of the arrow 6. As the lever ex tensions 49 swing downwardly, they will, of

course, draw downwardly upon the lockafterthe ratchet pawl'47 has been released.

to permit rotation ofthe shaft 33. After this ratchet has been released the davits will fall simultaneously, due to their rigid connection through the end rail 56 and their pivots 28. The rate offall of the boats may be controlled by pressure upon the hand lever 43 as it operates the brake band 40. It will be evident that the lock-bars 49 may be of such a length as to not be readily drawn of the lever extensions 48 and in that case a the lever 54 may be drawn downwardly to independently operate the lock-bars and by theh'ooks to the rings 22 at the stem and stern of the boat and thereafter the levers 36 and 37 may be rotated to wind the cable 23. As the cable is drawn upwardly, the davits '.will also be drawn and this action may be assisted, if desired, by an upward and forward pushing action upon the end- Irail '56. When the davits are'thrown outwardly and downwardly by this lever exten- Sioll, it ll b seenthat the boat will be i is mounted over the top of the boat 1n the 1 n stantly swung. clear of the supporting rig and carried over the side 'of the ship.

When theboat is in its original position between the-posts, the extension 48 of the davits will extend directly beneath thefloor of the boat. In this position, the drums may be locked against rotation by the pawl and ratchet 46 and 47 ,after which the cover may be forced downwardly over the top of the boat to its original position -The cover structure whether frame or sheet metal'may then be clamped inposition and will hold the boat rigidly without further securing y devices. boat davits are. supporting .the boat 15 in the position as shown in Fig. 2 and that the It will thus be seen that the structure here provides for the rigid support'of 'a boai be simultaneously swung downwardly am the boats swung completely free of an supporting devices, the operation of all th' davits outwardly of my invention as members being simple and direct in their action.

lVhile I have shown the preferred form now known to me,- it will be understood that various changes in the combination, construction and arrangement 'of parts may-be made by those skilled in the art, without departingfrom the spirit of the invention, as claimed; ,7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- 1. In a device of the character described, a pair of vertically swinging davits, a vertically swinging keel support adapted to receive a boat, means acting .in conjunction with said support for locking the boat thereupon, tackle sets carried over the davits andadapted to be secured to the boat, independent means. for operating said keel lock,

and means for simultaneously throwing the and swinging the keel support free of the boat,

2. In a device of the character described,

a pair of rigid vertical posts, a pair of'davits pivoted at. said posts, tackle sets connected to the upper end of the davits and posts and carrying cables extending downwardly from ends of said cables the posts, the opposite adapted to be detachably secured to the stem and stern of a boat, a keel block disposed between said posts, a keel support hinged to said block and upon which the keel of a boat is adapted to rest, a vertical flange formed upon one side of said support andextending along the keel of I members adapted to project through the keel the boat, lock support and obstruct the movement of the keel therefrom, right-angled lever exten; sions formed as continuations of thedavits, and means operable by released and the davits thrown outwardly to lower the'boat.

3. In a device of the a pair'of rigid, vertical posts, a pair of davits pivoted to the posts, tackle sets con nectedto the upper end of the posts and carrying cables extending'downwardly from the posts, the opposite ends of said cables adapted to be detachablysecured to the stem and stern of a boat-,a keel block disposed between said posts, a keel support hinged to said block and upon which'the rest, a vertical flan e formed upon one side of said support and extending along the keel of the. boat,- lock members adapted to the keel support obstruct the move-' ment of the keel therefrom, right-angled project through continuations of by the swinging lever extensions formed as the davits, means operable of said. levers whereby the keel will be compl'etelv released and the davits thrown outwardly to lower the boat, and brake means the'swinging of said levers whereby the keel will be completely,

character described,

davits and V blocks secured at the upper end of the posts and. davits, cables passing over said blocks to engage the stem and stern of a boat by their ends, brakedrun'is around which the opposite ends of said cables are adaptedto be wound, a single shaft to which said drums are fixed, a ratchet member controlling rotation of said shaft, braking means upon the shaft adapted to control the movement of'the davits and the cables, a rigid keel support disposed between the posts and uponwhich a boat is adapted'to rest, means for locking the boatupon said support, and members operating in unison with and releasthe swinging davits for e ecting ing the boats from said support.

6. In a device of the character described, vertical posts, davits pivoted thereto and adapted to support a boat, a cross beam carried by 'a vertical support, and a boat cover supported bythe cross beam and rigid means between the beam and cover to hold the latter over the top of the boat to form a closuretherefor. I

7. In a boat davit construction, a keel block, a keel support extending longitudinally of. said block and hinged thereto and. upon which the keel of a boat is adapted to rest, and means for swinging said support outwardly 'and downwardly to permit the boat to move freely from its normal inoperative position.

8. In a device of the the combination with a pair ofboat davits of clamping means adapted to fitinto the top of a boat supported thereby and rigid means above the clamping means to rigidly secure the boat against movement without 115 the requirement 9. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pair of boat davits of a cover frame adapted to positively engage the top of a life boat and rigid means 120 above the frame for securing said frame in position to prevent movement of theboat in relation to the davits. V 10. In combination with boat "davits, swingable means engaging one side reel, vertically reciprocable means engag-' ing the other side of the keel, a shaft connectedto each of said means, and means to actuate the shaft to effect simultaneous movement of each of said means.

of further fastenin s.

of the I i 11. In combination with davits, vertical posts,

keel support to lock the keel thereto, means toactuate the support to cause same pivoted davits havingangular extensions, a pair of means engaging the keel on opposite sides thereof,

"means connected to said extensions and to the outer ofsaid pair of means to release the keel from said outer means, and means connected to said extensions and to, the inner of said pair of means to simultaneouslyactuate said inner means to move-the keel outwardly-of the vessel.

12. In combination with boat-carrying a cross-beam rigidly supported by the posts, a cover for the boat, adjustable devices interposed between the cross-beam and cover for forcibly holding 'the latter in place, and meansto actuatethe the I and to move the boat outwardly and out of keel supporting position and to simultaneously move said locking means to inoperative position.

15. In combination with boat-carrying davits, means engaging'the keel on the inner side thereof, locking means engaging the keel on the outer side thereof, and means to.

render the locking means inoperative and to simulataneously move the keel engaging 'means outwardly.

16. In combination with boat-carrying davits, means engaging the keel on the inner side thereof,'loc-king means engaging the keel on the outer side thereof, means operated by the davits to render the looking means inoperative, and means operated by the davits to simultaneously move the keel engaging means outwardly.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. v WARREN F. MILLS. Witnesses:

W. W. HEALEY, W. H. BAUER. 

